Meet Mark

Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I’m 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness...

How to Succeed with the Primal Blueprint

So you’ve decided to join the challenge. You’ve created your own Primal Challenge Journal and have publicly stated your goals for the next month. Now what? First things first. You have to know the basics. If you’re new to the Primal Blueprint the following article will be like gold to you. Revisit it again and again until you’ve committed the concepts to memory. The graphs and charts are visual representations of the principles that are at the core of the Primal health philosophy and give you a taste of what it is in my new book, The Primal Blueprint.

You’ve defined the “what”. If your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, increase energy or just generally look and feel healthier these graphics explain the basics of the “how”.

The Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve

What’ll It Be? The “Sweet Spot” or the “Danger Zone”?

Carbohydrate intake is often the decisive factor in weight loss success and prevention of widespread health problems like Metabolic Syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes. These average daily intake levels assume that you are also getting sufficient protein and healthy fats, and are doing some amount of Primal exercise. The ranges in each zone account for individual metabolic differences.

100-150 grams per day: Primal Maintenance zone. Once you’ve arrived at your goal or ideal body composition, you can maintain it quite easily here while enjoying abundant vegetables, fruits and other Primal foods.

150-300 grams a day: Insidious Weight Gain zone. Most health conscious eaters and unsuccessful dieters end up here, due to frequent intake of sugar and grain products (breads, pastas, cereals, rice, potatoes – even whole grains). Despite trying to “do the right thing” (minimize fat, cut calories), people can still gain an average of 1.5 pounds of fat every year for decades.

300+ grams a day: Danger Zone of average American diet. All but the most extreme exercisers will tend to produce excessive insulin and store excessive fat over the years at this intake level. Increases risk for obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Law #5: Sprint Once in a While stimulates the production of HGH and testosterone, which help improve overall fitness and delay the aging process – without the burnout risk of excessive prolonged workouts.

The Conventional Wisdom approach to fitness is clearly not working! Stress is excessive, weight loss goals are compromised, and many are misguided to pursue narrow fitness goals that are unhealthy.

Leave a Reply

Nice all encompassing post Mark. I love the carbohydrate curve. It puts everything in perspective and it works! More importantly it works in a sustainable way that is completely enjoyable. I’ve lost 8 pounds effortlessly in one month.

Best,

Ted

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Carly De Santis

4 years 6 months ago

HI There,

Question, How can I drop more body fat when I already only consume 50-100g of Carbs/Sugars each day; I consume plenty of organic protein, good quality fats; veggies; I sprint once or twice a week; walk everyday; and I do crossfit style workouts a couple times a week? I still don’t have the body of a greek goddess, but I am trying. Oh and I take the right supplements. What do I do?

Thanks
Carly

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Anthony

4 years 5 months ago

If you are eating like that and working out like that there is a good chance you are exceptionally healthy and look really fit. I would focus more on making peace with where you are at, loving your body now, and that wait for some inspiration to take things to the next level.

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Carla

1 year 9 months ago

I know this post is a couple of years old, but I am in the same position as Carly. I don’t eat for pleasure (no treats, strict Paleo for years) and I lift heavy weights several days a week with HIIT and still carry a lot of body fat.

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Ash

2 months 19 days ago

I am in the same position. I spoke to a physical fitness trainer.
I believe it is because you need to do more strength training to build muscle. Even though you do more HIIT and cardio and burning fat, you need to balance it with strength training which includes either bodyweight exercises or high reps with low weights. There needs to be a balance.

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Steve

8 years 6 months ago

I’m sure this will vary from person to person, but what is the maximum intake of carbs before you trigger a spike in insulin? I thought I read you don’t want to eat more than 30g in one sitting but want to see what the consensus is.

Steve, it’s a good question, but there isn’t really a “maximum” level of carbs before triggering insulin. The quality of carbs matters a great deal, as well. A 20-oz Coke has the equivalent carbs of THREE pounds of carrots. Obviously, the coke will be disastrous for your blood sugar, but who is actually going to sit down and eat three pounds of carrots? The trick is to only eat primal or paleo-friendly carbs and focus on the fibrous, not starchy ones (unless you are especially active). Hope this helps!

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Kathy

4 years 3 months ago

Would you please define “especially active”? Thanks!

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wanda

5 years 11 months ago

A friend of mine that is diabetic and on top of her diet has been instructed to keep her carbs at 26g or less per meal (3x daily) and she is right on target whenever she checks her blood sugar.

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Min

8 years 6 months ago

Thanks for the pyramids! I’m a visual person, so this puts things into perfect perspective. I need to add more vegetables to my diet, pronto.

As much as I love PB 200-300 grams of carbs a day won’t always produce “insidious weight gain”: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeroussell#play/uploads/30/lqJSSMhXKj0 And Tom Venuto: “If fat loss is your number one goal and you want to achieve it the healthy way without losing muscle or energy, then you can’t go wrong with 50-55% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 15-20% fat as your starting point.” “I gained more muscle in the off-season, lost more fat in the contest season (as low as 3.4%) and stayed leaner all year round, maintaining a 7-9% body fat percentage without much difficulty. I also moved up a full… Read more »

There’s a great deal of explanation on here as to why Mark’s Carb Curve is the way it is. If you like the 50/30/20 ratio, you really don’t love the PB.

However, http://www.fitnessspotlight.com just posted an interesting analysis of two relatively “high-carb” diets. The findings? As usual, it’s context: The sources of carbs matter more than the amount. So if you can get 50% of your calories from fruits and veggies WHILE maintaining muscle and losing fat, be my guest. It just doesn’t seem practical to me, having tried it myself before.

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Mick

8 years 6 months ago

But the man you quote did say “in the contest season”. He’s obviously professionally highly active. That makes him atypical and probably means he can get away with a higher carbohydrate intake than others. He’s atypical and also note his objectives are limited “stay[ing] leaner all year round”. What he’s recommending for people like him for that specific purpose, even if it does work on those terms isn’t necessarily a good idea long-term and bearing other factors in mind. What most impresses one about Weston A. Price’s findings is this one fact: that every single traditional society he investigated had… Read more »

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Dragline

8 years 6 months ago

I have Venuto’s book and it has been a great reference for a number of years. But you are correct that it is focused on a much more active style of training than the Primal Blueprint with lots more cardio, frequent meals and carb burning. PB also says that if you are doing an extra hour of exercise a day, you could up the carbs by 100g. But the idea of PB is NOT to train so hard so frequently so that you can extend your useful life. Note that both TV and MS have about the same percentage of… Read more »

The danger is looking at this for weight loss. The science is clear that genetically our genes are near identical to those of the hunter gatherers. We are healthier if we eat, move and interact as they did. Even modern day tribes are healthy. Endomorph, ectomorph etc. doesn’t really matter.
Scott

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John Park

8 years 6 months ago

Great post Mark. Very good tips to live by.

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stork

8 years 6 months ago

So I’m following this pretty closely, my carbs are as low as possible (literally the only carbs I get are from a lone piece of fruit daily) and working out fairly frequently.

What I’m not doing is counting my caloric intake.

Am I still likely to lose weight?

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Marlys

8 years 6 months ago

We don’t count calories and we don’t actually count carbs. I hate math. If you eat the right things, you don’t really have to worry about the math. My husband has lost 44# and I have lost 32# following 80/20 primal (sometimes we cheat a little on the weekends). We do weights 2-3X/week and walk 5X/week. You will get more bang for your buck though if you swap out that piece of fruit for some veggies.

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stork

8 years 6 months ago

Problem as I see it is I’m trying to get super lean (lose stubborn abdominal/hip fat that doesn’t seem to want to go), not just casually drop some excess. Does it still apply?

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Dragline

8 years 6 months ago

Yes, but you can also try intermittent fasting if simply restricting the carbs does not do the trick for you.

Nice robust summary of the primal blueprint. This helps me out in an analysis I’m currently doing of several different eating plans.

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Catalina

8 years 6 months ago

Thanks for the visuals, Mark! I have the book (love it!), but it’s nice to have it plopped right in front of me (how lazy am I?) I just LOVE that the base of the pyramid is slow movement–I’m a walker from the time I was a kid, so it’s very validating.

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thania1

8 years 6 months ago

Second day of challenge. My challenge for this 30 days is to add heavy lifting and do some sprints. I already do sprints swimming.

Thanks Mark, nicely explained.

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bender645

8 years 6 months ago

Great Post Mark (as usual).

One thing that I think should be emphasized more than it is:

Eliminate: Sugary foods and beverages

Specifically the beverages part.

If weight-loss is a goal or even a desired side-benefit of adhering to PB then eliminating sugary beverages tops the list of easiest things to implement as well as probably the greatest impact.

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Andrea

7 years 4 months ago

For people who like “sugary beverages”. There is a tea out there, called Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy. It is like a treat without cheating. It does not need to be sweetened at all but tastes wonderful!

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Jessica

4 years 10 months ago

Hey!! I LOVE that tea! It really feels like you’re being bad when you drink it. So satisfying!!

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Kimberly

6 years 20 days ago

What about DIET Coke? Would one a day make that much difference? Also, what about Crystal Light drinks? I enjoy the Decaffinated Peach Iced Tea…can that be a staple drink on this diet?

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Philmont Scott

5 years 9 months ago

Whether to indulge in chemical sweeteners is a choice you will have to make. I would advise against it on several levels: 1) The chemicals used for sweetening have been “approved” by the same governments that tell us we should be eating most of our calories in carbohydrates, and they are doing it for the same reason. There are big $$$ behind both the diet industry and behind the carbohydrate packaged food industry. Are the chemicals immediately toxic in small quantities? No. Are they GOOD for you in the long run? I would have to say that the jury is… Read more »

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scott

5 years 7 months ago

i totally noticed and agreed with you on the carrots, i can taste the sweetness in them. how weird?

yes it would because diet drinks/sugar-free items have chemicals in them!! our body’s response to chemicals is to coat it with bodyfat! most people dont know this. Im amazed when I serve people at my job and they consume artificial sweeteners/sugarfree syrup.

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lbd

8 years 6 months ago

Thanks for the pyramid illustration. I have been teaching my Anatomy classes for years that the USDA and even the new government pyramids are way off. Even the Harvard School of Public Health pyramid is flawed. Would you mind if I used your pyramid as a better choice comparison to those (giving you full credit of course!)?

That is awesome! Thank you! I will be sure to show them your book as a reference. The misinformation fed to kids about nutrition is unbelievable. I try to do what I can to present an alternate viewpoint and encourage them to look at the science behind the claims. Thanks again,
Laurie

Mark’s 30 day health challenge couldn’t have come at a better time for me as I’ve made the decision to go Primal. However, I am finding it hard to get down to the weight loss regime for carbs. I am using the application Lose it! for the iPod touch to track nutrients. The following is what I’ve eaten today: Breakfast: – 3 egg omlette with onion, tomato, red pepper, mushrooms, 4 oz of top sirloin steak, and 1/4 cup of salsa – 1.5 cups skim milk Snacks: 10 almonds Beef Jerky small Greek Salad with onions, cukes, tomato, olives, and… Read more »

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Alan

8 years 6 months ago

Have you tried the Fitday site http://www.fitday.com
It is a wonderful help with planning meals and tracking progress.

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I'mafan

6 years 11 days ago

Wonderful site but – you won’t believe this – I can’t find the ADD BUTTON!! They say it is “to the left,” but I cannot find it.

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kxf685gone

8 years 6 months ago

Try for something with more fat. Just some nice (grass-fed or organic/hormone-free) red meat and some boiled or raw dark-green lefty vegetable sounds like a good dinner. To top it off, cook the red meat in butter. Lots of it. Mmmmmmmmm….. That’s what I had last night for dinner. 😛

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Wayne K Seymour III

6 years 5 months ago

I concur.
Thats basically every night for me.

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Mary

8 years 6 months ago

I love this summary. Very concise and easy to follow.

I also appreciate how each item was summarized in the book. This is a keeper!

Thanks for the great visual. It will definitely make things a bit easier at least conceptually. In practice on the the other hand…..

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Rachel

8 years 6 months ago

I second FlyNavyWife. I’m 5’3″, 105 lb female, and if I eat 100g carbs a day, I start edging up in weight. I certainly can’t regularly eat 150g a day and ‘effortlessly’ maintain my weight.

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Dragline

8 years 6 months ago

Yes, Mark makes a point when introducing the carb curve in his book that smaller, lighter people will have lower carb requirements and those that do lots of cardio will have higher ones. This is not “one size fits all”, but the relative proportions should work for most people. For reference, Mark says he weighs about 165 lbs and is at 8% body fat. If you weigh about 2/3 of that, you are probably looking at 60-100 g carbs in the maintenance zone, unless you are really active.

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Jan Mortimer

3 years 4 months ago

I am reading alot about “primal” or a “paleo” program. I agree with the fact that People are literally poisoning themselve because of the garbage being consumed. It appears that grocery stores are equipped to promote processed products, NOT food. In a nut shell all that’s being eaten are pure chemicals with no nutritional value. Then there are the boxed products, again, pure chemicals. I am obese becase I had an illness that put me in bed for 2 yrs, I am trying what is being said & I am feeling so much better, people need to open their eyes,… Read more »

Thanks Mark, this is great! Thank you for laying it all out, clear and simple . I can see me perusing this page a lot over the coming month.

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jj

8 years 6 months ago

I just wanted to know what you think an appropriate amount of healthy fat intake is for someone who is extremely active? I follow the protein and carb intake you advise, but seems like my fat intake at every meal varies. Just wanted an overall daily fat intake idea to keep my energy levels up.

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Icarus

8 years 6 months ago

Why is conventional meat and produce listed as “high-risk”? High-risk for what, e-coli? Also, I’d think that high-fat dairy would be more acceptable (for a lactose tolerant person) than high-GI fruits or tubers (bananas, potatoes, etc.)

Other than that, nice pyramid. It’s the best one I’ve seen yet and it’s much better than the oft-cited Harvard pyramid, let alone the classic USDA pyramid of old.

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Icarus

8 years 6 months ago

Also, you can eat a fair amount of vegetables and fruits and still stay under 50 grams of carbohydrates. For example, according to data on fitday, these are the approximate amounts you’d need to get about 50 grams for some common veggies & fruits (milk and liver included for comparison): -4.5 cups of whole milk (between 1/4 and 1/3 of a gallon) – 49.6 grams -3 medium oranges – 46.2 grams -1.5 lbs strawberries – 52.3 grams -3 lbs (!!!) raw spinach – 49.4 grams -1.5 lbs raw broccoli – 45.2 grams -3 lbs of fried beef liver, weighed raw… Read more »

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kxf685gone

8 years 6 months ago

Conventional meat has 1) added hormones, anti-biotics and who knows what chemical and 2) a much much higher omega 6:3 ratio than pastured meat.

High-fat grass-fed RAW dairy sounds good, but homogenization of milk damages the healthy fats in milk and makes them much unhealthier for you. Pasteurization also doesn’t have the healthiest effect on milk either.

But even raw grass-fed dairy should be taken in moderation because, as Icarus noted, dairy has carbs too.

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Dan

8 years 6 months ago

Hi Mark, you stated above: Carbs: 50-100 grams/day (or less) = accelerated fat loss. 100-150 grams/day = effortless weight maintenance. Heavy exercisers can increase carb intake as needed to replace glycogen stores. I lift weights 3 times/week for about an hour, punch a heavy bag 2 times/week for approx 30 minutes(3 minutes on, 1 minute off) and run once per week (long sprints of 200-400 yards w/1-2 minutes rest inbetween for approx 10-15 minutes total).. Would I be considered a heavy exerciser with this routine? I feel great keeping my carb intake within the 50-100/day range, but would more carbs… Read more »

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gn

8 years 6 months ago

probably i’m wrong, but i can’t help felling uncomfortable with the PB food pyramid:

wouldn’t it be better to place meat and fish at the basis and vegs./fruit on the second place?

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Jessica

4 years 10 months ago

We gotta remember to look at how our ancestors were able to eat. Most of their diet would have been things they could forage making meat secondary. Also, meat is very acidic and by eating tons of veggies (especially greens) we can guard against all that inflammation.

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Rahsaan

8 years 6 months ago

gn,
I was thinking the same thing about meat being the base.

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Dan

3 years 3 months ago

Meat isn’t the only thing at the base, eggs and fish make up a big part of my diet too.

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JD

8 years 6 months ago

Great post. Love to see the charts and summations.

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Adam Buhler

8 years 4 months ago

what is the best to use as an oil for cooking? and for something like eggs is it better to use butter? or marg?

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Alan

8 years 4 months ago

For general cooking you can’t go past coconut oil. Eggs are delicious done in heaps of butter, good in coconut oil too. Extra Virgin Olive oil is fine as well if you keep the temperature moderate.
PS: don’t say that M word too loud around here! 😉

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Firestorm

7 years 11 months ago

Also, you might want to consider walnut oil for low-heat situations or cold-food use, avocado oil for up to moderate-heat cooking, and macadamia-nut oil for moderate to even medium-high (up to 375 degrees) heat cooking.

Grass fed meat is best if it’s cooked pretty slowly anyway, and left rare or (at worst) medium-rare… so butter and the above oils are all magnificent for that kind of cooking (and all of them are great for salads!)

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Karthik

8 years 1 month ago

Thanks for this article. Very good read and good place for knowledge gathering. One question – Your recommendation on avoiding legumes is the only thing that is the exact opposite of most other sources of health information that I have read, including the age-old Ayurveda and the Chinese book of longevity. Any comments?

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Jay

8 years 1 month ago

The recommendation against legumes is most likely due to the lectin content. Lectins are believed to contribute to auto immune disease and may contribute to cancers. The evidence for the cancer link is still weak but it is increasing as more is understood about lectins.
For more info check out Robbwolf.com, thepaleodiet.com (Loren Cordain has some very interesting scientific articles here regarding these types of things) and westonaprice.org for soy info.

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Jay

8 years 1 month ago

And remember, just because a belief has been around for thousands of years (Ayurveda) does not make it right. People still believe in ghosts but I have yet to see any meausrable, observable, and repeatable data on the existence of ghosts.
Lectins however have had studies with meausrable, observable, and repeatable results and the evidence thus far points to them being not so good for you.

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Veronica Lacaille

5 years 2 months ago

Hi! What wheat and legumes (and bananas, and potatoes) have in common is Amylopectin. All of the different types (Amylopectin A through E) is a toxic effect on the body.

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gcb

8 years 28 days ago

Stupid question – does the amount of fibre in a food affect the carb count? If I’m eating 100 g of carb (fruit and veg) a day, but 25 g of that is fibre, do I count that as 75g or 100g?

In the PB we count fiber as part of your total, so in your example that would be 100 grams. Grok on!

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Kelli

8 years 20 days ago

Any ideas on a low-impact replacement for sprints? Back just can not handle sprinting. Swimming would probably work, just not always possible.

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Frank

8 years 20 days ago

Use a bicycle. Real or stationary (probably safer).

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Firestorm

7 years 11 months ago

I came into this -super- unfit, with a lot of back damage (from carrying around hundreds of extra pounds). I found the CTS (circular strength training) routine to provide a good general fitness, and found that adding the occasional round with heavier-than-usual club-bells, and the addition of belly dancing (yes, even for guys!!!) made a HUGE impact on both my fitness and the alleviation of pain in my back — just a thought.

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Daniel

8 years 1 day ago

Hi Mark.. I was just wondering if yogurt would be alright in my diet for fat loss? I’m still certain that I stay under my 100g per day. A serving of yogurt for me only at breakfast comes to 30.2g grams of carbs, 10g protein and something like 25g of sugar.. but apart from the yogurt I have eliminated ALL processed sugar, the only type of sugar I get is the stuff from the fruit I eat.

Thanks in advance!

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Laura

7 years 9 months ago

Daniel, I eat yogurt most days and have been steadily losing fat with PB. I would suggest trying to get away from the yogurt with added sugar though. Now I eat plain greek yogurt with some added berries. While I was transitioning from sugared yogurt I added a small amount of jam, and gradually decreased the jam until I didn’t need it any more. When fresh berries are out of season (or just too expensive) I use frozen ones thawed in the fridge overnight.

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Jason

8 years 1 day ago

Does the restriction against legumes include peanuts (if it says so in the book, my copy is in the mail)?
Tangentially: are peanuts considered Primal? They’re inedible raw, but are considered a great source of healthy fats when cooked. But…does cooking them oxidize the fats to the point that they’re no longer considered healthy?

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Rebecca Loughlin

7 years 9 months ago

I have been living the PB lifestyle for about 5 weeks now. I found out about it from doing P90X and Tony Horton’s FB page. I am a 42 year old Mom and have been exercising incessantly for most of my adult life. I am a 1/2 marathoner (and always kept up high mileage) and avid interval trainer/weight lifter. I was feeling burned out (after P90X) and tired of sacrificing my life for some unattainable fitness goal. I never looked like I was in the shape I was, eventhough I was/am much stronger than a lot of men I know.… Read more »

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PurpleSpongeBob

7 years 8 months ago

if someone, namely me, has a lot of food intolerances how could they eat primal? The native americans never drank cows milk, which is why I figure more NA’s are lactose intolerant than any other race. so, i have tried all sorts of beef and pork, bought from many different places, including pastured, and i still cannot eat either meat. I can eat turkey and chicken and fish, though my husband doesn’t like the smell so cooking it is hard. i have a severe intolerance to all things dairy, so cheeses and milk are out. My intolerance to many different… Read more »

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A.D. Sevigny

7 years 7 months ago

I have been in a similar condition. What I found is that the more things I removed from my diet, the more I ate the same foods over and over. The constant exposure to the same items allowed my immune system to become increasingly more sensitive to what I was eating. It was a vicious cycle. What has helped me: 1)to not eat anything every day, once every 4+ days is better; 2) identify 4 or more items for each food type (meats/veg/fruit/etc) and eat them in a 4+ day rotation; 3) always eat fruit with some form or protein,… Read more »

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Tim

7 years 25 days ago

PurpleSpongeBob I cannot tell you how exactly you describe my exact situation. I was wondering if you have had any results or any suggestion that you have followed that gave you positive results.

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Elizabeth

6 years 11 months ago

I have migraines, too. I’ve been trying to control them using Dr. Bucholz’ “Heal Your Headaches: the 1-2-3 Program” diet, which eliminates several of the foods that you mentioned. I had already gone low-carb a year before adopting the anti-migraine diet, so I was determined to keep to that (starches & grains don’t agree with my stomach & cause me to gain weight). You’ll probably end up eating a lot of chicken and allowable vegetables. Green peppers are not digestible by many people due to their skin. Shallots, leeks, & green onions are not supposed to be migraine triggers and… Read more »

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KarMar

5 years 7 months ago

Maybe look more into FODMAP’s. Fructose intolerance or HFI the more detrimental kind of fructose intolerance where you can not tolerate any form of fructose and sometimes galactose.
I too have suffered all my life with adverse affects to fruit and veggies. I’m now in the process of do the tests associated with these intolerances.
Maybe looking into them further might give you the answers you are looking for…..
Hope that helps 🙂

Wow, I can’t believe how succinctly you posted exactly how one should live to be healthy, lean and fit. I have tried to explain this lifestyle numerous times but for now on will just send people to this page.

As for carbs, the recommendations here are pretty much right for me. I train a lot so I do get away with more carbs than I should eat. But ultimately carbs easily make me fat and lethargic.

Great article!

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Sandra

7 years 8 months ago

I am dairy intolerant – my mom is native american. I am primal for six months and do not eat any dairy, potatoes, grains, chocolate or sugar. I have not eaten dairy for years, but my ND told me to give up sugar completely, period, about six months ago. I was having terrific IBS and my cholesterol was rising. She told me sugar raises cholesterol. So, I listened and sugar is a goner for me since November,2009. PB is easy to implement with your personal restrictions. Do not think of your life in terms of what you cannot have, but… Read more »

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A.D. Sevigny

7 years 7 months ago

I am looking at the Carbohydrate Curve graphic and wondering if the presentation of the data could somehow be flipped so that the ideal (Grok) is at the top instead of cornered at the bottom. In other words: put the superior state on top for quicker conveyance of the message?

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Wayne Sorensen

7 years 7 months ago

Just getting started. Makes a lot of sense. Are raisins a good snack? Eat lots now.

My wife was wondering the validity of Eat Right for Your Type and if the two diets are intertwined in any way.

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ArcticBear

7 years 6 months ago

Like most dried fruit, for the weight, raisins are mostly sugar. Lots of fructose carbs. One quarter cup has 25 grams of sugar. Also, there may be other ingredients such as pesticides, canola oil, etc.

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ArcticBear

7 years 6 months ago

Like most dried fruit, for the weight, raisins are mostly sugar. Lots of fructose carbs. One quarter cup has 25 grams of sugar. Also, there may be other ingredients such as pesticides, canola oil, sulfites etc.

I want to raid my pantry and throw away ALL the high carb stuff but the hubby doesn’t understand why. I really want to lose this extra weight that I have been carrying around since the birth of my daughter (over 2 yrs ago)!

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Annie

7 years 5 months ago

Hello! I had the same problem. I was completely convinced that Primal was THE WAY and he was totally wacked out by it.

Just go ahead and delegate your own pantry or cupboard. At the least, just start making primal meals. If he starts gaining weight by eating his other junk foods in addition and sees you loosing it (which you will right away)… he will be convinced. Or better yet he will feel full with the meals you make and be loosing weight with you, which is my experience.

Just wait until you cook up a hearty breakfast…

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Liana

7 years 5 months ago

I’m 21 years old, 5’4″ and 115 pounds. I lost about 80 pounds on my own at home over the past little while, but I feel like I’m stuck with a higher body fat percentage than is preferable for someone of my light weight. I do lift heavy weights and do body weight exercises, accompanied by some cardio, but nothing has seemed to work so far at getting rid of the last excess bits of fat. About one or two months ago, I stopped eating grains. That helped my stomach problems a lot, but admittedly, I just replaced the grains… Read more »

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Taylor

7 years 4 months ago

I am a 20 year-old college student recovering from a back surgery due to a herniated disk from what is being referred to as “chronic cardio”. My goal was to be an ultra-marathon runner but all I got out of it in the end was a bad knee, torqued hips and a back surgery ha! In the meantime I have found the Primal Blueprint (hallelujah!) but am struggling with the exercise component of PB. How should I best get into sprinting and lifting heavy things with a compromised back? any ideas on workouts or suggestions in general?? I’d love any… Read more »

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MikeT

7 years 4 months ago

I love this site! I have been lo-to-no carbing it for 3 or 4 years now. At my max I dropped 60 pounds from my highest weight of 265lbs! Yikes! I had dropped down to 205 but normally maintain around 210-215 range. I seem to have plateued here. I am 6’3″ btw. Anyway I love your site. It is fantastic!!! Just wish I could lose the last of this belly fat…

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MikeT

7 years 4 months ago

One question though about this and other paleo type diets… why no cheese? I mean, I realize that they did not have cheese back then so is this just to go along with the paleo theme or is there an actual health reason? I eat alot (and I do mean alot) of cheeses which I find mostly labeled zero carbs or <1 gram of carbs per serving. High protein, high fat low carb. So what is wrong with cheese. When I lost my 60 lbs I was only eating meat, eggs and cheese! Are there reasons that I should now… Read more »

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Shelly

7 years 4 months ago

why is fruits at the base of the pyramid. I thought fruits were rare finds in Grok’s day and were few and far between???

The results from this way of life just speaks for itself. You’re happier and have a higher sense of well being.

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Titusclan

7 years 2 months ago

So how do I do this diet, being that I’m a vegetarian? I don’t get my protein from meats, but from legumes and grains. Help!

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Andrew

7 years 2 months ago

The easiest solution would be to abandon vegetarianism. Alternatively, eat lots of eggs and drink whey protein.

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Aruna

7 years 28 days ago

Ya I have the same issue. I am a vegetarian (I do eat eggs and milk). How do I follow this diet? Since I get my protein from legumes as well.

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AJ

7 years 26 days ago

I don’t know where to start. I’m 21, and unhealthy. I want to become healthy, but I have alot of bad habits. I don’t know where to start for my health. If anyone, anyone at all has any advice, I’d really like to hear it.

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Ashley Smith

7 years 23 days ago

I’m sorry if you’ve already answered this somewhere. Your book is on the way to my mailbox as we speak, but I’m curious….do the veggies count in the carb intake? I know fruit counts if you’re trying to lose weight, so veggies probably do too huh?